Food for thought

For winners, winter is an amazingly time of year. While 
nature (and most of the competition) is sleeping, winners 
use the winter to stay focused and achieve greatness. What 
will you accomplish this winter? What magnificent goals will 
you achieve? Decide to make this your most productive season 
ever, then get to work. Make it happen. "Git 'er done!"

The "daily doing" enables the System to Beat any Goal set, all the Time

I recently wrote that "systems in place beat goals, all the time."

That sparked considerable interest and requests to 

say more about this. The key is that goals are a 

"destination" or target in the future. Systems involve 

repeated daily actions to get us there. It's important to 

strive for a future goal, but the secret of success is more 

in the "daily doing" than in the "big dreaming." Read more after the cut.

TRUE LOVE

I saw this today and decided to share......

Read more after the cut.......

Coping with Over-Whelm

Every business owner or manager has far more to do than 

anyone can accomplish in the time available. We all have 

marketing and research to do, meetings to attend, people to 

supervise or a website to build. It’s easy to feel over-

whelmed.

What’s a leader to do?

Failures succumb. They let themselves get over-whelmed and 

have the feeling that it’s "too much," or that they "can’t 

do it all." 

Winners, on the other hand, accept reality. Of course you 

can't do it all! No one could! That’s the way life, and 

business, is. You can’t fight it.

Winners employ three simple steps, and I highly recommend 

them.

1.  They say, No! They understand that some of the have-to's 

are simply unrealistic and they say no, even if it would be 

nice if they could do them. Some of the things on any 

manager's list simply won’t get done, at least not today. 

Delegate or out-source as many things as you can. When 

necessary, just say No.

2.  They Sequence. This is another word for prioritizing. A 

few things must be done now, or soon. Others must be done, 

but can wait until tomorrow or next week, perhaps even until 

next year. Do the things of most importance, leave 

everything else until it’s turn.

3.  They Focus. Successful leaders do one thing at a time, 

and each individual item, at that critical moment, gets 

their full attention. When you’re in a meeting that you’ve 

decided is the most important thing at the moment, BE THERE! 

Pay attention. Be alert. Stay focused.

How to sell more

This week, I was reminded of a quote from one of my mentors,
Thomas Leonard, who observed that, "People love to buy
things, but almost no one wants to be sold."

Thousands of people are eager to buy what you sell. They
want the benefits, the convenience, the comfort or prestige
that you can provide. Human beings are an "acquisitive"
bunch. We want stuff!

Of course, consumerism can be abused, but buying and selling
is the process that creates the life (and the lifestyle) we
all want. The "desire to acquire" goes deep, and it's a good
thing.

So, if you aren't making as many sales as you would like,
let me suggest that the problem is not with your customers,
but with you. The problem is likely one of the following:

1.  Not enough potential customers know about you or that
your product could enrich their lives. This is a marketing
problem, and as a business leader it is your job to solve
it. Let people know! Get out there and get in the game!

2.  Or, the other possibility, is that you're trying too
hard to "sell."

Personally, I have a deep-seated aversion to being "sold"
anything. I see websites that seem manipulative or
dishonest. I see sales techniques that fail to build trust
or credibility, and definitely do not attract me.

But people are eager to buy benefits! They buy solutions to
their problems. They buy things that make their lives
better, easier, simpler, healthier or more comfortable. They
buy stuff that makes them happy. And they buy from people
they know and like and trust.

If enough people "know and like and trust" you, they will
listen when you offer a product or service that will make
their lives better. If they "know and like and trust" you,
they will flock to your door and you'll make all the sales
you need.

hoW HARD should U wORK

For years, there’s been a drum-beat on the internet and
among coaches that we should work less and make more. The
theory is that by being smarter and more efficient, we
should make more sales, and have more profit for every hour
we work.

I like the theory. I’m not sure it’s that simple.

The reality is that the those who work hardest often seem to
make the most money. Beyond that, it seems to me that the
world actually prefers LOW prices, and that Sam Walton
(founder of Walmart) did alright by lowering prices and
making a bit LESS on every sale.

Now, obviously, we all want to be efficient, and we all
think we’re just a bit smarter than the next competitor. We
are all looking for an edge to get ahead, and I think that's
a good thing and I hope it never changes. But I also think
there is an obvious edge we tend to over-look.

Customers actually LIKE businesses that go the extra mile!
They PREFER companies that answer their phone. They do
business with people who give SUPERIOR service, and who seem
to care about customer satisfaction -- actually, I like
companies that refuse to "satisfy" me and seem determined to
AMAZE me! And all of that requires hard, hard work.

Here’s an old secret of success: focus on the life-time
value of a loyal customer. Focus on the value of a customer
who sees him- or herself as your partner, rather than as
just a shopper. When your customers refuse to deal with
anyone else, your fortune is assured. How hard should you
work? About that hard.

How an American leader reacts to an all IMPORTANT news